TIGI World Release 2013: Education, Inspiration and Gorgeous Hair

(From left) Anthony and Pat Mascolo and the TIGI International Creative Team during the Grande Finale at TIGI's 2013 World Release.

Members of the TIGI Session Team of artists led by Global Creative Director Nick Irwin broke-down the looks they had only-recently created in London and New York during those cities’ Fashion Weeks. Here's The Blondes look they created.

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“World Release,” the US gathering of TIGI professionals including stylists, colorists, educators and salon owners was held this year in Dallas, Texas, October Oct. 6-8, 2013. Over two-thousand hairdressers, salon owners, TIGI partners and TIGI principles including Founder and International Artistic Director, Anthony Mascolo were in attendance. The event featured collection debuts, runway shows, break-out classes, a TIGI “mall” and TIGI-style socializing.

THE DETAILS: Anthony Mascolo, TIGI Founder and International Artistic Director, established his education model what he calls “Creative Intelligence” which is working with heart, head and hands to elevate the art and craft of hairdressing. Mascolo, three-time British Hairdresser of the Year and the driving force behind the brand, took to the stage Monday morning with his wife Pat Mascolo to extend a warm welcome and to talk about the history of TIGI.

MORNING SESSION on Monday, Oct. 7th: To begin the show, the Mascolos showed off 10 models all representing a hair collection they have worked on in the past 10 years. Afterward, the International Creative Team held a stage-wide demonstration of cuts in their new TIGI Masterbrand Collection, which is the biggest production Anthony Mascolo and TIGI have undertaken.

Months of research, model castings, preparation and organization went on before the shoot finally took place over five, cold, snowy days in Iceland. Members of the TIGI International Creative team flew from the USA and Italy to join the UK team members, in the creation of the multi-brand production marking the run-up to TIGI World Release.

"To create a collection that encompassed the imagery of all of our brands, we used the current trend for monochromatic clothes as the link. By the first shoot where we have used color to not only accentuate the cut, but also the fashion image. I am really excited about the results," says Anthony Mascolo.

AFTERNOON SESSION on Monday, Oct. 7th : A runway show transported everyone backstage at a fashion show, as members of the TIGI Session Team of artists led by Global Creative Director Nick Irwin broke-down the looks they had only recently created in London and New York during those cities’ Fashion Weeks. Irwin had worked with powerhouse designers including Mara Hoffman, The Blondes, and Louise Gray and TIGI artists demonstrated the how-to’s on the hair styles talked about how they expressed the designer’s vision. "TIGI is all about education, we are all for a hairdresser putting their own personal stamp on a hair cut," says Irwin.

European Session Director Maria Kovacs recreated hair from The Blondes runway show where the hair was very blonde, very full and directional. The end result was a Hitchcock-esque film-noir heroine.

Irwin’s model represented a look from Louise Gray’s “Hey, Crazy” show. Hair was wrapped in rollers and then shellacked with brush-on gel for a sculptured, shiny finish. “We would have called this ‘council hair’ because it looked like a woman who was spending the day in curlers.”

Session Director Marco Iafrate’s design for Mark Fast’s London Fashion Week show featured a nearly-neon weft of hair incorporated into a low ponytail. The whole head was wrapped in a black net.

The afternoon also featureed the TIGI 2014 Academy Collection, which TIGI has been working on for the past eight months. "The collection keeps all the strong fundamentals and basic techniques of hairdressing and puts them all together in this collection. As hairdressers we always need to be improving what we do and constantly upgrading," says Anthony Mascolo. "That's what we try and do with each of our collections."

That evening, the audience walked through a mist of dry ice to their seats as TIGI took everyone on a journey into the mind of Mascolo.

PRESS PREVIEW: TIGI’s partnership with corporate-parent, Unilever, means they have access to an infrastructure that includes over 600 scientists. The TIGI brands—Bedhead, Catwalk, TIGI Copyright Colour, Hair Reborn, Cosmetics—will also benefit from the direction of new CEO of TIGI, Thomas Reasonover, who spoke to how Unilever’s resources allows TIGI to be responsive to the market and nimble in turning around new products. “We have the technology and skill that Unilever gives us and them we have the genius of Anthony Mascolo to guide us.”

Helen Coupe, Head of Global Marketing for TIGI, shared a few of the product launches and initiatives for the coming year, noting that many more were to come. They included:

• Re-emphasizing TIGI’s musical roots. TIGI set up pampering tents at music festivals in 2013 and they will continue this musical momentum.

• Next year, TIGI will reinvigorate their “Inspirational Youth” program, a boot camp for young (20-25) stylists, which allows them to work closely with TIGI artists and, eventually, the chance to work with the team backstage during fashion week.

• Brunettes will have more fun next season, with the launch of Fashionista Brunette Shampoo, Conditioner and Mask.

THE EDUCATION: TIGI educates on four pillars of professional development: color, styling, cutting and business. To satisfy the many hairdressers hungry for TIGI teachings, classes were offered in the afternoon and the morning on Tuesday, including a session with Bravo’s Tabatha “taking over” Coffey. Her message was about the importance of a consistently excellent service, using Starbucks as a model. “You know what you are getting there, it’s reliable, it’s dependable and that is what your clients expect from you.”

The TIGI Master Cutting class demonstrated how to take out the volume internally in “heavy hair” to create beautiful movement. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what’s on the floor, it’s what stays on the head that matters,” says TIGI's Marco Lafrate.

In a TIGI Cosmetics class, attendees were encouraged to let their own creativity be their guide and to not get bogged down in a this-brush-for-that mentality. Lipstick on the eyes, eyeliner on the brows—whatever works. T-to-the-G.

In a Gent's Consideration, TIGI educators worked with classic hair cuts, tapering, and giving business tips to grow one's male clientele.

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About the Author:

Lauren Salapatek

As the Web Editor, Lauren Salapatek manages the creation, production and editing of all online editorial content for Modern Salon Media's websites and e-newsletters. Since January 2010, Lauren has worked at Modern Salon Media covering salon style, product and beauty trends, business editorial and more for both print and online content.